A.N.: Okay, so my twice-weekly update schedule fell completely apart. I can only apologise for the lack of updates over the last couple of weeks. I haven't abandoned the story at all; it's just been a really hectic few weeks for me, with medical tests, my daughter's birthday, and the winding down of the school term, complete with sports days, school plays, and all that fun stuff.

The situation with my hand is still up in the air. I'm able to use it, but it aches after not a whole lot of use, which tends to get in the way of typing at times. I should find out soon what's actually wrong with it, and what they plan to do. In the mean time, I'm finding it easier to write everything out on paper first and then type it up, but that of course comes with its own issues. That said, I haven't been doing nothing this last fortnight or so. I actually wrote the end of the story out (because it was sat in my head, taking up valuable thinking space which I could be using for the middle of the story instead). This means I have a more concrete point to aim for - as well as an idea of some of the stuff I need to make sure happens before that point. It's a sidetrack (something I am rather prone to) but ultimately a productive one. I've written stories in a partly non-linear fashion for pretty much as long as I've been writing. Until now I've been trying to change that, but I think ultimately it's better for me to just stick with what I know!

In terms of updates from this point on... I'll be trying to stick to once a week, I think. It's more manageable, especially as I go into the busy summer holiday period. I'm trying to make sure I have at least 3k of story per chapter - there doesn't seem a whole lot of point in posting updates much shorter than that - so that does sometimes add to the challenge of getting a chapter out. With the cast all spread out the way they are right now, it's a bit more of a juggling act to make sure I'm not neglecting arcs, and that they all interweave in a way that makes sense. Hopefully I'm managing that so far. Let me know what you think!

The main station building was a lot more cheerful with six of them than it had been with two. That was partly helped by the torch Taichi had pulled out of the rucksack on his back. After clearing a space on the floor - and waiting for the dust thrown up by moving the furniture to clear - they set it upright in the centre. The long shadows cast by the light were offset by the brightness of the starlight, which could still be seen through the windows. Takeru wondered if this world ever got truly dark.

Patamon settled into his lap and began to doze again. He switched off to everything else for a few minutes, letting his head droop. Without the press of danger, the reality of the situation was starting to catch up with him. It was good to take a few minutes to reassure himself of the fact he was on solid ground. He certainly didn't plan on taking to the air again any time soon.

A yelp of pain from Koushiro roused Takeru from his thoughts. He looked up sharply - Taichi was inspecting the other boy's arm. Koushiro looked as pale as he had ever seen him, although he had to admit it was a little hard to judge by the light of the torch.

"It's fine, really," Koushiro was saying. "Just sore."

"Bullshit," Taichi replied. "I've seen "just fine" plenty of times in the soccer team and it doesn't come with the look you had on your face just then. We're putting that in a sling until you get back and someone can take a proper look at it."

"Broken?" Takeru asked. This was bad. As sore as he was, at least everything still worked. Broken bones would be a serious complication all the while they were trapped here.

Koushiro shook his head. "I can move everything. I made sure of that while we were stuck. Most likely it's just some muscular damage."

Taichi sighed. "Which doesn't mean less serious, you know. Jeez, how can you be so smart the rest of the time and not know this stuff? We'll have to hope it's a sprain or something for now. It's not like we can really do much else. Besides, you were the one so insistent on bringing the first aid kit. You aren't seriously gonna complain that I'm using it, are you?"

Koushiro didn't say anything to that. Takeru could see the resignation on his face as Taichi pulled out some gauze bandage from the backpack.

"You should get some rest after you're finished," Tailmon said. "It will be light in a few hours, and we'll be able to get moving."

"Where to?" Takeru asked. "I mean, we don't know where Hikari or Yamato are, and we don't have any way to get back home, either."

"Not to mention, I don't think I can digivolve right now," Agumon said, eyeing the bag of food. "I'm too worn out."

Tailmon tapped her foot impatiently. "That's why you should be resting. There's plenty of benches here; try to sleep."

Takeru looked around the room, eyeing up the three shadowy doorways into the rest of the building. One of them had been an office. He hadn't checked out the others.

"I think we should explore this place a little when it gets light," he said. "Before we head out. I was too tired to do a proper job of it before, and when I woke up it was dark. There might be a clue as to who used to use this station. Maybe it could lead us to whoever took Hikari."

"I agree," Koushiro said, looking up. "There's a strong chance of finding a map of this world - or part of it at least - somewhere around this building. At the very least there should be some sort of map of the railway network. We- No, Taichi, I am not having you put my arm in a sling. We're in a potentially hostile environment! I need full mobility!"

Taichi had pulled a distinctive triangular piece of material from the rucksack. At Koushiro's remark, he gritted his teeth, and looked over at Takeru.

"Back me up on this, will ya?" he asked. As Takeru nodded, Taichi turned back to Koushiro and carried on talking.

"Look. The fact that this is a dangerous place makes it more important to take care of your arm properly," he said, clenching the sling in his fist. His eyes had narrowed. "And you have to keep it elevated, okay? Because if it does turn out to be broken, and you keep moving it, you're only gonna make it worse. Or do you want me to call Jou and get him to tell you the same damn thing before you'll actually listen to me!"

There was silence. By the time Taichi had reached the end of his rant he'd been yelling. Takeru felt distinctly uncomfortable. He'd never seen Taichi look so angry at Koushiro. The last time he'd heard him shout like that, it had been at his own brother, shortly before Yamato had ventured off on his own in the Digital world. It wasn't exactly a good memory.

Koushiro, however, didn't appear too worried. He had simply raised his eyebrows as Taichi raised his voice.

"Actually, now that you mention it, we should contact Jou anyway," the redhead remarked. He spoke lightly, as though they were sat safe at home, without a care. "No doubt the others will be concerned about our situation. Takeru sent a message to confirm we were alive, but we couldn't do much more than that at the time."

Without waiting for Taichi to reply, Takeru scrabbled to fish his D-Terminal from his pocket. No doubt his mother would be worried out of her mind. Ignoring the protests from a body which ached with every movement of his shoulders, he tapped a quick message to Jou. Miyako did have an unerring tendency towards panic, after all.

"Well, I've said that we're both safe for now," he said, looking up at the pair of them. "Anything else I should add?"

"Yeah," Taichi said, clenching the fabric in his hand tightly enough that his knuckles turned almost white. "Tell them that-"

"-enough!" Koushiro snapped, making Takeru jump. The redhead had seemed so calm a moment ago. "Have you considered that informing them of our injuries will only make things worse? The situation bad enough as it is. I understand that you're concerned, Taichi, but do you really think that making everyone else more worried than they are already is going to help? If you start blithely announcing that we're injured and in need of medical treatment, you're going to cause a panic. And based on what happened earlier that is something we need to prevent at all costs."

"What are you talking about?" Taichi asked, some of the anger fading from his voice.

Koushiro sighed, and gingerly rested his bandaged hand in his lap. "I've been thinking about what happened. How Takeru and I ended up back here, despite the fact that we have been assuming that travel between the two worlds could only occur at midday and midnight."

"You worked it out?" Takeru put down the D-Terminal and eased Patamon onto a different portion of his lap.

"I don't have sufficient evidence to be certain yet, but I think I might have an explanation," Koushiro replied. He looked uneasy. "We know that so far, while in this world, a high level of fear is sufficient to trigger a return to the real world. Now consider your emotions immediately prior to our appearance here, Takeru. The only logical explanation for what happened is that this… this process of transferal is something which can work both ways."

Taichi sat back heavily, then frowned. "Wait a minute. What about Sora? When I talked to her on the phone earlier, she was freaking out. And then we know that she ended up in this place too, after that. Well, if being afraid takes you here, why didn't she go then?"

"I did say that it was only a potential solution, you know," Koushiro replied. "But, it's possible that you need to visit this world first - to make an initial connection. Like… like installing a driver for computer software. Simply putting the disc into the computer is not sufficient - it won't work until after the drivers are installed. After that though, there's no need to install anything when the disc is inserted again because the computer already recognises it."

Takeru found his mouth twisting into a half smile, despite everything. "You're trying to explain something to Taichi by talking about computers? Did you crack your head on the way down too?" he quipped.

Taichi looked as though he was about to protest when Tailmon strode purposefully in front of him.

"We need to rest, remember? If this world is similar to our own the sun will rise in a few hours and then we need to start searching."

It was like watching the air rush out of a balloon. Taichi deflated: his irritation and energy both seemed to wilt away before their eyes.

Takeru felt a knot in his stomach - Hikari and Yamato were out there somewhere, in who knew what kind of state, and he'd been smiling. How could he be cheerful when his brother and his best friend were in danger? He felt like a traitor. To judge from Taichi's face, he wasn't alone.

He sank back into the bench, scarcely noticing the protests from his aching body. They had to find them. He couldn't conceive of a future in which Yamato or Hikari weren't around - and that had to mean they were okay, didn't it? Surely he would know if something had happened to either of them. He'd be able to tell; to feel it in his gut. And until they found them, he'd just have to cling to that belief. To keep on hoping that everything would be fine somehow. Things had always worked themselves out somehow before. This time couldn't be any different…could it?

Sunday, 2:55pm

Miyako was not freaking out.

Nope. Absolutely no freaking out going on. None at all. In fact, the mere suggestion that she might be panicking was so far from the truth as to be completely laughable.

After all, she saw people vanish all the time, right? It was pretty much par for course among the Chosen Children. Practically routine. So there was no reason at all for it to be completely terrifying when her friends quite literally disappeared in a puff of smoke.

And really, the reappearing amid screams of terror wasn't so bad. If she tried hard, she could even think about something which wasn't the horrific expression that had been on infamously-unflappable-Koushiro's face when he'd returned a couple of hours ago. Or the shuddering wreck that Takeru had turned into. Or Taichi's raging, helpless fury when Tailmon had returned without his sister. Or the leaden dread in Jou's voice as she had told him there was every chance he'd be next. Or…

Okay. So Miyako was freaking out. She felt pretty damn justified though.

The worst part about it all was that despite the fact Jou was the calm, level-headed face of someone both older and, frankly, calmer about all this, everyone who was left in hte real world was now looking to her for answers. Jou had fielded most of the messages from the strange nightmare world, that was true. But Daisuke, Sora, and both Mrs Yagami and Mrs Takaishi kept wanting to know how things were going. What Gennai had said. If she had made any progress translating the strange document that Gennai had found.

She wasn't sure whether she wanted to scream with frustration, cry with fear, or both. Well. On second thought, "both" sounded a pretty good plan. One which she nevertheless held off. Like hell was she going to snap before Daisuke did. This was a matter of pride.

What she really wanted, more than anything, was to have Poromon sat beside her. He was always a calming presence. But the priority had been to fetch the partners of the original Chosen Children, as they were the ones apparently at risk. And she didn't want to make things worse by asking favours while two of them were missing, three of them were stranded, and the other three faced a countdown until it was their turn. Besides. She was too busy pulling her hair out trying to understand Koushiro's notes to think to ask.

She understood computers, sure. She'd worked with Koushiro on some projects relating to the Digital world, too. But she wasn't Koushiro. She wasn't an expert on Digicode. And she really hadn't made any progress at all. Not least because, computer genius or not, Koushiro had one of the most utterly incomprehensible and unfriendly approaches to data storage she had ever seen. His laptop was a labyrinth of passwords, shortcuts and hidden folders - the contents of which were usually cryptic at best, and cyphered at worst. She suspected he did it on purpose, to prevent people hacking into his files. That much was understandable, but it was no help now when he was stuck in the very world he had been trying to make sense of, and she had been left to pick up the pieces.

What made things even worse - if things could be worse than five of the eight original Chosen being trapped in an unknown world with no safe way home - was the fact that she couldn't even send Koushiro a message and ask for some advice. Takeru had told Jou that they were both alive, but that they were trapped, and needed Taichi to rescue them. Just what would happen if Taichi didn't make it in time had not been elaborated on. Her fertile imagination had been left to envisage the worst, and it sure as anything wasn't pretty.

"Any luck?" Jou asked, sitting beside her on the sofa. They had moved out of Taichi's bedroom leave space for anyone returning to materialise. If by some miracle they all came back without help, it was going to get rather crowded in there.

"Nothing," Miyako said. "I don't even know how he can work like this. We're just lucky he told me how to navigate his password system when he came back the first time, because otherwise I'd be completely shut out. If the laptop idles for more than thirty seconds it locks and requires a password. If I open a new file, it's password protected. If I look for a file he's referenced, it's hidden somewhere in a maze of folders and shortcuts, and almost every file I do find is at least partly written in a cypher. I've never seen anything so ridiculous in my life."

Jou sighed. "He always did have a tendency towards paranoia."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "I spend a lot of time online. I've seen paranoia. This? This is more than your regular tinfoil hat tendencies. He's made this laptop - which is so old it shouldn't even work any more, by the way - more secure than most government intelligence sites. I'll be honest, I don't think I'm going to be able to do this on my own. Not in the next ten years, at least."

Daisuke looked over from the dining area. "So go get Ken already. I don't get why no one's called him before this anyway. I mean, Mimi said she's bringing Iori over, right? How come Ken's the only one left out of this?"

"Iori's only involved because Mimi needed a gate," Miyako pointed out. "And he lives in the same apartment building as Takeru, so he offered to stop in and grab some of Takeru's clothes, seeing as his family have a spare key. It wasn't as though we thought anyone was going to be vanishing this early in the day."

"I still reckon this is a team effort. And it's not right to shut Ken out of this. Especially seeing as he could help."

"We're not shutting him out," Jou said. "It's more that things have escalated a lot faster than anyone was expecting. And whatever connection this has to us, it's not the Digital world. I spoke to him yesterday, and he hasn't been having the same nightmares that the others have. There was no need to drag him all the way over here just to sit and do nothing. Even Mimi wouldn't need to be here if she weren't bringing Gomamon and Tentomon with her."

There was a knock at the door.

"Speak of the devil," Miyako said. "I dare say that's her now."

She was about to set the laptop aside when Mrs Yagami emerged from Hikari's room and headed towards the door, eyes red from crying. Miyako winced. It was understandable for the woman to be shocked and upset by what was happening, but there was no denying that some of the tension she felt was the pressure of her friends' parents expecting her to somehow bring their children home.

Mimi was like a breath of fresh air. There was something about her that just radiated confidence and goodwill. To guess, Miyako would have said that the older girl hadn't even stopped to consider the possibility that something could go wrong. As Jou sat with the digimon, explaining everything they knew, Mimi stood in the kitchen area with the adults and somehow managed to bring a smile to their faces. A small one, to be sure, but a smile nonetheless.

"Right," Daisuke said, slumping onto the sofa beside Miyako and making her jump. "Ken's heading to the subway now. He'll be here soon as he can."

For a moment she wasn't sure whether to be relieved about getting help, or irritated that she wasn't able to solve this by herself. She hated the feeling that she couldn't do something, and a small, stubborn part of her wanted to demand that everyone back off and leave her to it. She squashed that voice hard. There were very probably lives at stake here. This was no time to play the hero - especially when she'd already admitted that she was making no headway, and Gennai had stopped replying to her emails while he "looked for information". There was no telling how long that would take.

She looked up from the laptop, and frowned. All the Chosen Children left in the real world barring Sora would shortly be gathered in this apartment. Admittedly there was a strong chance that two of them and their partners would be disappearing in, oh, about nine hours or so. But that still left an awful lot of people in what was, frankly, not a very large space. And it wouldn't be too much longer before concerned parents started to call and ask where their children were. Iori would go home. Daisuke could go home, although actually convincing him to would be a different matter. Jou and Mimi would need to stay where someone could watch them.

To top it off, it was Sunday. That meant school the following morning. Even if she were still awake enough to want to go in, how could she even think of abandoning everyone that way? They hadn't had to deal with anything like this before. Their encounters with the Digital world had always slotted around school somehow. This wasn't something they were going to be able to hide, and that fact scared her.

Jou's phone bleeped. Immediately all eyes turned to him, as he fumbled to open the message.

"It's Takeru," he said. "He says that Taichi made it and they're all safe for now."

"For now?" Mrs Yagami asked, her voice quavering.

Mimi smiled, and clasped her hand. "He's just being cautious, I'm sure," she said. "If they're all together then they have three digimon to help them. Agumon, Patamon, and Tailmon aren't going to let anything happen to them. I'm sure of it."

Miyako took in Mimi's sincere expression. She honestly believed what she was saying. She had to. Mimi was an open book - one whose blind faith in everything being fine Miyako envied.